13 January 2017

Core and periphery

“People resist exploitation. They resist as
actively as they can, as passively as they must.” — Immanuel Wallerstein

IN his world system analysis, Wallerstein
speaks of a multiplicity of political systems which gives capitalists a
“freedom of manoeuvre that is structurally based”.

This analysis explains how the system works
when the core (rich) countries export waste to peripheral (poor) economies in
the shape of decaying ships. It is the core (industrialist-state) nexus in the
peripheral country itself which benefits at the expense of its peripheral
(marginalised) labour. A follow-up of the disaster at the Gadani ship-breaking
yard in Balochistan validates the premise.

Demonic, hazards-laden ships will keep coming
to Gadani for dismantling.

The government’s response to the deadly fire
during the dismantling of a ship has whittled down to compensation to the
families of the dead workers, as indicated by the coverage of a meeting held
recently at Gadani after another incident of fire at Yard No.60. A seven-member
committee was formed to ‘distribute the cheques’.

No other point of the terms of reference for
the committee was mentioned by the official who had given orders for arrest of
the chairman of the Pakistan Ship-Breakers Association immediately after the
November accident.

The whereabouts of the owner of the
ship-breaking company, who brought the ship and had gone missing, were not
divulged. Neither was the meeting told what happened to the contractor who was
arrested or what was the progress of the case filed on behalf of the government
at the Gadani police station on Nov 2. Regulatory measures and labour inspection
were not even mentioned. Generalised comments were made on legislation to
‘ensure protection of labour rights’.

So it is business as usual at the
ship-breaking yard, sans accountability — because accountability does not fit
into the political systems of the peripheral country we live in.

In 2012, civil society’s activism and its
take on holding the industrialists accountable for the deaths of 258 workers in
the Baldia garment factory disaster did create a ripple for a while, as the
owner of the factory was put behind bars for criminal negligence for some time
but then set free on bail (later a person belonging to a political party was
charged with arson).

Labour and human rights groups had filed two
constitutional petitions in pursuit of accountability. The victims’ families
were compensated by the government and the MNC after a long struggle. But
accountability does not suit the system, hence safety and health conditions in
the garment factories have remained precarious by and large. Sadly, social and
political structures dominated by the core elite obstruct the rule of law and
sustain the culture of impunity.

Expectations of improved labour compliance
raised at the onset of the GSP-Plus trade regime have come to naught. It has
been three years since GSP-Plus status was granted in January 2014 but the
situation on the ground has not changed. In the first assessment of the GSP,
released in early 2016, the EU had noted implementation of the ILO core
standards “…remains a problem for all laws and policy areas in Pakistan. … Only
about 340 labour inspectors cover the entire Pakistan and they have been
accused of corruption and of collusion with employers.” The EU, in line with
the core-periphery analysis, chose to put the blame on the weaker party (labour
inspectors) and avoided holding the employers directly accountable.

In early 2016, the government embarked to
reform the labour administration system under the ILO-assisted project,
‘Strengthening National Capacity for ILS Compliance in Pakistan’, and carried out
an assessment of labour inspection in the provinces. The draft report, shared
with few stakeholders in mid-2016, was an objective situation analysis
reflecting on the grim status of labour inspection and presented valuable
recommendations for a strong labour inspection system.

The assessment highlighted the role of the
federal government as crucial for monitoring of implementation of labour laws
in the provinces. The year has ended and there is no follow-up.

A two-year project, ‘Sustaining GSP-Plus Status
by Strengthened National Capacities to Improve ILS Compliance and Reporting’,
was also initiated in January 2016 with ambitious objectives, including
facilitation of the “…labour laws reform process”. Apparently the donor-funded
projects on themes of labour and human rights do not have any impact on the
ground. Unless the will to change emanates from within the body politic,
projects tend to work as cosmetics.

The federal government has failed to
formulate a national policy, national system, and a national programme on
occupational health and safety as required under the ILO Promotional Framework
for Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 2006 (No. 187).

There has been no follow-up on the draft
Sindh Health and Safety Act, 2015 and the draft Sindh Health and Safety Policy,
2015. The outcomes of the ILO-assisted Joint Action Plan for Promoting
Workplace Safety and Health in Sindh (2013-2016) are not known. There probably
is none.

There are no signs that the world system will
change in the near future. The rich countries of hegemonic core are likely to
continue dumping their waste to the periphery. Peripheral countries are left to
devise their own strategies to survive waste and fight entropy.

Demonic, hazards-laden ships will keep coming
to Gadani for dismantling and marginalised labour will continue to risk their
lives and limbs. What both — the elite and the labour — can do is to make
efforts to curb adverse impacts of this activity.

National regulatory frameworks should be in
place, implemented through a strong regime of labour inspection. Accountability
and transparency in the ship-breaking business must be ensured. Ship-breaking
yards should be open to inspection by trade unions, human rights groups and
NGOs working on environment.